Joey Lauren Adams - (born January
9, 1968 - North Little Rock,
Arkansas) is an American actress
with appearances in over 30
films.Nearly
20 years later after Joey's entry
into show business with the Troy
Cory Show -- during China's Open
Door policy era, (1988), it's our
failing if we don't understand
the "Joey Style."
The manner
and method she has used are
inseparable from the movies she
has acted in, written, produced
and directed, since the
beginning.
Despite
the Hollywood visionary aspects
of the starring process, that
sometimes drives big talents into
visionary "reclusiveness," Joey
has delivered 30 movies,
including the wonderful
"Come
Early Morning" in which she
scripted and
directed,
(2006).
- CONTINUED


(Continued)
-
She is perhaps
best known for
her roles in
the films of
Kevin Smith of
1993,
particularly
"Chasing Amy"
and in Richard
Linklater's
"Dazed and
Confused," a
film which
starred Ben
Affleck.
-

Playing Alyssa
Jones in the
1997 film
"Chasing Amy,"
Joey co-staring
role with Ben
Affleck,
brought her a
lot of
attention for
her portrayal
of a lesbian
who falls for a
man. Director
Kevin Smith
wrote and
directed the
film, which was
largely
inspired by his
friendship with
lesbian
actress/writer/director
Guinevere
Turner.
Her performance
earned her both
the 1997
Chicago Film
Critics Award
and Las Vegas
Film Critics
Society Award
for "Most
Promising
Actress" and a
Golden Globe
nomination for
Best
Performance by
an Actress in a
Motion Picture
--
Comedy/Musical.
Adams also
contributed the
song "Alive" to
the soundtrack
of Chasing Amy,
performing it
in one of the
scenes of the
film.She also
has appeared in
two other View
Askew
productions,
"Mallrats"
(1995) and "Jay
and Silent Bob
Strike Back"
(2001) briefly
reprising the
role of Chasing
Amy's Alyssa in
the latter. She
reprised the
role again, in
voice form
only, for
"Clerks: The
Lost Scene,"
featured on the
Clerks X
DVD.
After having
the female lead
in the Adam
Sandler box
office smash
"Big Daddy" she
would go on to
appear in
smaller films
that met with
less success
(Beautiful, In
the Shadows)
and many
lesser-seen
small
films.
Some
speculation has
been made that
her unusual
speaking voice
hampered her
chances of
Hollywood
stardom, to
which she has
commented:
"It's not a
normal voice.
It doesn't fit
into people's
preconceptions
about what a
woman's voice
should sound
like.
My mom doesn't
think I have an
unusual voice,
though. I'm
sure it's
helped me get
some roles. But
"Chasing Amy" I
almost didn't
get. There was
concern the
voice would
grate on some
people, which
some critics
said it
did."
In 2005, she
had a guest
role in an
episode of TV
show "Veronica
Mars." 2006
marks the
release of her
directorial
debut, "Come
Early Morning,"
starring Ashley
Judd, Jeffrey
Donovan, Diane
Ladd, Tim Blake
Nelson and
Laura Prepon.
The film had
been selected
for the
Sundance Film
Festival.
According to
WiKi Joey
currently
resides in
Oxford,
Mississippi..02.
TIMELINE
/
.Stage - Screen
- 
Filmography
1988
-
The
Troy Cory
Stage/TV
performer.
Shanghai, China
(1988)CLICK FOR
MORE
STORY
1993
-
Coneheads
(1993)
1993
-
Dazed
and Confused
(1993)
1993
-
The
Program
(1993)
1994
-
The
Pros & Cons
of Breathing
(1994)
1994
-
Sleep
with Me
(1994)
1994
-
S.F.W.
(1994)
1995
-
Mallrats
(1995)
1996
-
Drawing
Flies
(1996)
1996
-
Bio-Dome
(1996)
1996
-
Michael
(1996)
1997
-
Chasing
Amy (1997)
(also composer
of song
"Alive")
1998
-
A
Cool, Dry Place
(1998)
1999
-
Emergency
Room 2
(1999)
1999
-
Big
Daddy
(1999)
2000
-
Bruno
(2000)
2000
-
Beautiful
(2000)
2001
-
Harvard
Man (2001)
2001
-
Dr.
Dolittle 2
(2001)
(voice)
2001
-
Reaching
Normal
(2001)
2001
-
In
the Shadows
(2001)
2001
-
Jay
and Silent Bob
Strike Back
(2001)
(cameo)
2002
-
Grand
Champion
(2002)
2002
-
Beeper
(2002)
2003
-
The
Big Empty
(2003)
2004
-
The
Gunman
(2004)
2004
-
Clerks:
The Lost Scene
(2004) (voice
only)
2006
-
Love,
Fear and
Rabbits
(2006)
2006
-
The
Break-Up
(2006)
2006
-
Come
Early Morning
(2006) (writer,
director
only)

03
-
In
November, 2006,
the independent
drama "Come
Early Morning,"
was released
for theatrical
showing. The 90
minute feature
explores the
life of a
thirtysomething
single woman at
the crossroads
of her life.
The film's
writer-director,
Joey Lauren
Adams, and its
star, Ashley
Judd -- both 38
-- were also at
their own
turning points
when the
project entered
their
lives.
Adams, who
hails from
Little Rock,
Ark., where
"Come Early
Morning" is
set, started
writing the
script several
years ago. An
actress who
came to fame
nine years ago
in Kevin
Smith's
"Chasing Amy"
and was most
recently seen
in "The
Break-Up," she
didn't know
what to do
during the time
she wasn't
auditioning or
performing. So
she turned to
writing.
"I found myself
becoming
unhappy and
frustrated over
the roles that
were out there
for actresses
and going to
movies and
saying, 'I
don't relate to
that,' " she
said. "It was
something to do
to get out of
bed when there
were no
auditions or
scripts to
read."
After writing
75 pages, she
hesitantly sent
the script to
her agent, who
encouraged
Adams to
continue.
While writing
"Come Early
Morning," Adams
planned to star
in it. But once
she'd finished
and began
talking about
who would
direct the
film, she
realized she
didn't want to
let her story
go into someone
else's
hands.
"I had worked
really hard
writing the
script, just to
make it true to
my experience
in the South
and to make
these
characters
real. That had
been really
hard to do,"
Adams
explained.
"Then the music
became
important to me
and the
locations,
because a lot
of them
actually exist
in Arkansas. I
wanted the film
to shoot in
Arkansas, and I
wanted to be
there when it
was edited, and
I wanted to be
there during
the casting.
Finally, my
agent said,
'Joey, you are
going to have
to direct it.'
"
EDITOR'S
NOTE/
For
a while, Adams
harbored the
idea that she
would both
direct and star
as her heroine,
Lucy -- a woman
who works as a
contractor by
day and spends
her evenings in
bars, going
home with the
first man who
asks her.
"Then I came to
my senses," she
said. "I
realized there
is so much I
don't know
about directing
and I would
prefer to learn
that than act
in it. And it
was great for
me. I so
enjoyed not
having to worry
about hair and
makeup and
wardrobe, or
did I spill my
lunch on myself
-- that sort of
thing."
It took Adams
five years to
line up
producers and
financing for
the film, which
began
production last
year. Judd was
everyone's No.
1 choice to
play Lucy.
Although Judd
was born in
California, she
grew up mostly
in the South
and has a home
in
Tennessee.
The "Come Early
Morning" script
came at just
the right time
for Judd. "I am
not a big
strategy
person," she
said. "I'm not
terribly
ambitious. I
don't have some
overreaching
plan for
myself."
For the last
few years,
acting has
taken a back
seat to her
work as a
YouthAIDS
global
ambassador for
Population
Services
International.
"I had done
'De-Lovely' and
was very
engaged with my
HIV-AIDS
prevention
initiative, and
I was taking a
hard look at
human
trafficking and
the sexual
exploitation of
girls and
women," Judd
said. "All of
that
information
created in me a
real need and
desire to do a
simple,
creative,
honest film
that was
character
driven. I have
been blown away
by the
individual
stories of poor
women I have
met all over;
in an
interesting
way, it created
a craving in me
to tell a
single woman's
heartfelt story
about her
journey. I just
lost my
appetite and my
stamina for
some big,
glossy,
high-production-value
picture. It
felt very
inauthentic to
me."
Adams recalled
that the two
bonded when
they met over
brunch. "We
didn't talk
much about the
project," she
said. "It was
sort of like we
just knew it
was going to
happen. We
didn't have
rehearsals. I
think I went to
her house for a
couple of hours
before we
started
shooting. There
was an
immediate
trust."
Adams admitted
it was
difficult
giving up the
role of Lucy.
"I was kind of
worried if I
would go
through the
entire process
seeing myself
in the role.
But the first
day of
shooting, the
first scene, it
was, like, 'OK.
We're fine.
It's hers.'
"
If Adams was
nervous about
her first time
behind the
camera, Judd
says she never
saw any
jitters.
"She was so
clear and
approachable,"
said Judd. "She
was
enthusiastic to
the point that
it was
infectious. The
entire crew
showed up every
day so
dedicated to
her. We had a
great time. The
snacks were
good and the
roses were in
bloom."
And Adams
enjoyed herself
so much she
wants to
continue
directing.
"I can't tell
you how much I
enjoyed going
into the set
and being
involved," she
said. "I really
like working
with
actors."
But if you see
her in L.A.,
it'll only be
because she's
here working.
Adams has moved
to Oxford,
Miss.
"I just missed
the South," she
said. "I'm
older now. I
think L.A. is
great for some
people .
The town where
I moved, I am
sure a lot of
people would
hate it. But it
has the kind of
food I like.
The music I
like. I ride my
bike around.
It's just a
different
lifestyle." -
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